John Sanford Gilman was born in Rochester, New York in November 1918. He grew up with an older brother and twin sister. His father was a successful lawyer which gave his family a comfortable life during the Great Depression [Annotator's Note: the Great Depression was a global economic depression that lasted from 1929 through 1939 in the United States]. After he graduated from college with a mathematics degree in 1940, Gilman found a job with an insurance company in New Jersey. He often visited his aunt who lived nearby and that is where he first heard the news that the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii on 7 December 1941]. It was very exciting news. He had never planned to join the military, but he was not enjoying his job and thought that joining the military was a perfect opportunity to get out of the business. He drove over to Floyd Bennett Field [Annotator's Note: in Brooklyn, New York, New York] and enlisted in the Navy air corps. He had an admiration for flying and thought the Navy was the more superior branch than the rest. The Navy contacted him on 6 June 1942, around the same time as the Battle of Midway [Annotator's Note: Battle of Midway, 4 to 7 June 1942 at Midway Atoll], and he was called to active duty. He reported for training at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill [Annotator's Note: in Chapel Hill, North Carolina]. [Annotator's Note: Interviewer pauses the interview to readjust the camera at 0:07:20.000.] After three months of athletic training, he was sent to Lambert Field in Saint Louis, Missouri [Annotator's Note: now Saint Louis Lambert International Airport] where he began his basic training. He did his first solo and did not feel ready, but somehow managed it. The landing was the hardest part. He learned aerobatics in order how to maneuver the plane in the sky. He was transferred to Arizona after basic training to learn formation flying. He was then transferred to Pensacola [Annotator's Note: Pensacola, Florida] for advanced flying including, instrumental flying, fighter training, and landing on a carrier. He practiced on target sleeves that were towed by a plane. The social life was somewhat dull in Pensacola but enjoyed going on weekend dates while at Chapel Hill. He did take a weekend pass [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] in New Orleans [Annotator's Note: New Orleans, Louisiana].

After advanced flight training in Pensacola [Annotator's Note: Pensacola, Florida], John Sanford Gilman was sent to Glenview Naval Air Station [Annotator's Note: Naval Air Station Glenview in Glenview, Illinois] near Chicago [Annotator's Note: Chicago, Illinois] to practice carrier landing on Lake Michigan. He flew a Wildcat fighter plane [Annotator's Note: Grumman F4F Wildcat carrier-based fighter aircraft] and made four landings to pass this stage of training. He was given a 30-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and went home to visit family. He received orders to report to Melbourne, Florida for fighter operational training which taught him how to confront an enemy in the sky. He was divided in a group of six team members. The programs lasted three months. He was given another month leave before he had to report for night fighter training in Quonset Point, Rhode Island for four months. The Navy had developed a high-tech radar which was installed in the wingtip that helped the pilot determine the location of the enemy. On 31 December 1944, Gilman, and his squad, VF(N)-76, night fighter squadron [Annotator's Note: Night Fighter Squadron VF(N)-76], were sent out to the Pacific. On 1 January [Annotator's Note: 1 January 1944] he flew south to Charleston, South Carolina, flew west and stayed one night in El Paso, Texas, and then headed to Los Angeles [Annotator's Note: Los Angeles, California]. He boarded a jeep carrier and travelled to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] where they met up with a fleet. His was assigned to the USS Lexington (CV-16) which was in Bremerton, Washington getting repaired after it was damaged during the Battle at Coral Sea [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Coral Sea, 4 to 8 May 1942 at Coral Sea Islands]. After three months, the ship was seaworthy again. At this time, Gilman was stationed in Hawaii and continuing to practice flying and target practice. He and his friends enjoyed the night life in Hawaii. His group had five pilots and four airplanes. His friend that was with him, Paul Keppel [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], was from Minnesota. His other friend, Alex Kolinski [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], was from Long Island [Annotator's Note: Long Island, New York]. The commanding officer, Lieutenant Abercrombie [Annotator's Note: phonetic spelling], was a nice guy but later died in an airplane accident while landing.

[Annotator's Note: Muffled talking can be heard in the background throughout this segment.] John Sanford Gilman was assigned to the USS Lexington (CV-16) and shared a state room with three other guys in his squad [Annotator's Note: Night Fighter Squadron VF(N)-76]. He enjoyed having the option of taking a shower every night and having plenty of food options. Before a mission, all the pilots gathered in a "ready room" for a briefing giving details about the target, what kind of resistance to expect, and what to do in an emergency. His first mission strike was over the island of Palau near the Philippines. Being a night fighter, he was sent out in advance before the rest of the fleet. Gilman saw one enemy plane but could not get him on his radar to shoot him down. The Japanese pilot was able to retreat. As Gilman returned to the aircraft carrier, an American pilot mistook Gilman's fighter plane for a Japanese Zero [Annotator's Note: Japanese Mitsubishi A6M fighter aircraft, referred to as the Zeke or Zero] and fired on his plane as he was attempting a landing. Gilman survived the friendly-fire attack, but only after crashing his plane into the Pacific Ocean. His plane sank immediately, so he had to get out fast and swim to the surface bringing his parachute and inflatable raft. He inflated the raft but could not get on, so he hanged on to it until he was rescued. This event was his first combat experience. Gilman had his hatch open before he attempted to land the plane on the aircraft carrier. When he entered the water, he sank down about 15 feet before he was able to get out of the plane and swim up to the surface. He swam hard because he had so much equipment on him which added a lot of weight. He waited in the water for about 30 minutes before a destroyer ship picked him up. He spent the rest of the day on the destroyer and was transferred back to the USS Lexington the next day. He slept in a state room by himself. Because destroyers did not have equipment to make ice cream, the USS Lexington gave the ship five gallons of ice cream after they rescued and returned Gilman to the carrier. He had a brief conversation with the Admiral air officer for debriefing. [Annotator's Note: Video black out at 0:58:08.000.]

[Annotator's Note: Muffled talking can be heard in the background throughout this segment.] John Sanford Gilman was assigned to the USS Lexington (CV-16) and survived a friendly fire attack while flying a Hellcat [Annotator's Note: Grumman F6F Hellcat carrier-based fighter aircraft]. After a debrief with his admiral, he was given orders to fly a Hellcat and drop packages on the different battleships in the fleet to get him back to flying as soon as possible. His next mission was to Hollandia [Annotator's Note: now Jayapura, West New Guinea]. He dropped a 500-pound bomb on the airport. There was no accuracy in dropping the bomb. He just got close to the airport, dropped the bomb, and hoped it landed somewhere that counted. He did not see any enemy planes during this mission. A typical mission lasted two days with two attacks each day. He would be in the air for an hour and a half for each mission while in Hollandia. On his mission over Palau, he would be in the air for three hours because he had to circle the area. Between strikes, the fighter pilots would have two weeks to rest. They were not allowed to drink any alcohol, but many pilots kept a few bottles of whiskey in their safes. When the USS Lexington reached Truk [Annotator's Note: now Chuuk Lagoon, Federated States of Micronesia], Gilman did not fly because they did not require night fighter pilots. The admiral of the ship thought night fighting was a great imposition because it required a lot of logistics for the crewman. Gilman flew more during the day than flew at night. He flew six times at night only to see if there was enemy nearby. During the Battle at the Philippine Sea [Annotator's Note: Battle of the Philippine Sea, 19 to 20 June 1944], Gilman did not get into the air until noon. He saw an enemy plane and headed straight for it, but another fighter pilot shot it down before Gilman could take a shot. He was disappointed he did not get a kill that day. Gilman left the USS Lexington (CV-16) by mid-October 1944.

[Annotator's Note: Muffled talking can be heard in the background throughout this segment.] John Sanford Gilman ended his tour in the Pacific in October 1944. He had spent sufficient time onboard the USS Lexington (CV-16). Because he was part of the first night fighter group out in the Pacific, the Navy did not have any set rules on when pilots had reached enough time to go home. Gilman was at Maduro [Annotator's Note: Maduro, Philippines] and launched by catapult and flew to a jeep carrier [Annotator's Note: escort aircraft carriers (CVE)]. The jeep carrier brought Gilman and other fighter pilot to Manus Island which was part of the Admiralties [Annotator's Note: Manus Island, Papua New Guinea]. After a week, Gilman was transferred by plane to Pearl Harbor [Annotator's Note: Pearl Harbor, Hawaii] and then on to San Francisco [Annotator's Note: San Francisco, California]. He received a 30-day leave [Annotator's Note: an authorized absence for a short period of time] and went home. He arrived home by Thanksgiving 1944 [Annotator's Note: 23 November 1944]. Gilman's brother had just assigned as an ensign for the Navy, and his sister was enlisted in the WAVES [Annotator's Note: Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service; United States Naval Women's Reserve]. His sister worked in communications during her whole tour in service. Gilman was stationed at Charlestown, Rhode Island after his 30-day leave and became a night fighter instructor. He noticed that many of the pilots he was training did not want to be night fighters. He made himself busy meeting girls. He met a wealthy and beautiful girl who he dated for a while. He was discharged from the Navy in January 1946. By the summer of 1946, Gilman decided to join his father's firm and became a lawyer. He practiced from 1949 to 2003. [Annotator's Note: Video black out at 1:31:09.000 to 1:32:03.947.]